Through the efforts of the Friends of Art, and through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Appleton S. Bridges, the building of a new gallery in Balboa Park was begun. The new building is to hold about 10,000 square feet of gallery space. The architecture was chosen to be harmonious with the other buildings in Balboa Park. William Templeton Johnston asked the Bridges to be considered as the architect. Although he admitted to never having designed a museum before, he traveled back east and studied museums at his own expense. They awarded him the commission upon his return. The building was co-designed by architects William Templeton Johnston and Guild member Robert W. Snyder, who created a Spanish Plateresque design with the façade being a variant of one at the University of Salamanca.

     An article written on January 1, 1923, in the San Diego Union stated:

NEW FINE ARTS BUILDING GIVEN TO SAN DIEGANS

     "The 1922 program of new construction and improvements in Balboa Park is of no less importance than the restoration work that has been done in the last year. Of greatest magnitude, perhaps, is the construction of the north end of the Plaza de Panama, on the site of the Sacramento building, of a Fine Arts building, a gift to the people of San Diego by Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Bridges.
     The Fine Arts building, the plans of which are being completed by William Templeton Johnson, architect, for Mr. and Mrs. Bridges, will be of reinforced concrete, fireproof in every particular, and designed with special regard to surrounding landscape and architecture and to the purposes for which the building is dedicated. It is said that the new building will cost approximately a quarter of a million dollars.
     The prospect of having so fine a structure devoted to the encouragement of artists and the development of the fine arts has aroused great enthusiasm in local art circles, to which the fine working light and rare scenic beauties of San Diego have attracted prominent artists from all over the world. Prominent members of the San Diego Art Guild and other local art organizations believe that in presenting a Fine Arts building to the people of San Diego, Mr. and Mrs. Bridges have laid the foundations for the establishment in this city of one of the greatest art centers in America."

     There is an interesting footnote to the creation of this building. Samuel W. Hamill, an architect and member of the "Committee of 100" who worked to preserve the Spanish-Colonial architecture in Balboa Park, interviewed by Margaret Price for the San Diego Museum of Art on March 4, 1983 stated:

     "I chose to listen to an architect and the one that showed up was William Templeton Johnson, and he invited me to go down sometime and look at his office. He had a nice office. He was working on the drawings for the Fine Arts Gallery, which started out, as you know, as a library. Bridges gave the money for a library. That wasn't to be as popular a thing to pursue, so they changed it to an art gallery and the Bridges were very receptive to the idea."

     There is another account of what transpired. At a banquet held shortly after the closing of the Panama California International Exposition, in honor of Aubrey Davidson, who served as its President, a guest inquired as to whether the French art that had been sent to the city as a part of the exhibition be retained for the city's permanent benefit. Told that it was impossible because of the lack of a building suitable for such a permanent collection, the inquirer suggested a solution to the problem. Before the banquet was over, Appleton Bridges offered to give the city such a building.

     The annual Spring Show of the San Diego Art Guild drew high praise in a March 1925 article, written by art critic and Guild President A.B. Campbell Shields.

     "The spirit of art is alive in the hearts of our local band of workers, and speaks not alone of present but of future accomplishment. Southern California, and San Diego in Particular, possesses all the qualifications necessary as an ideal field for the development of a high type of artistic culture and achievement. Nature has lavished her wealth of beauty in mountain, plain and sea; many devotees of the ideal, in literature, music and the graphic and plastic arts have been drawn here, lured by her spell, and are acquiring rare products of man's genius and generosity.
     Now that the scaffolding is being removed, the whole structure destined to be the repository of art treasures is coming into view; the Bridges Art museum, immensely impressive in its grace and proportion and design is indeed a magnificent symbol of the faith of the donors in the splendid future in store for art in this community. Its very existence strikingly indicates the presence in our midst of a nucleus of art appreciation destined to work increasing wonder in the cultural life of our people."

     "Appleton Bridges was born in Maine in 1848. In 1878 he married Amelia, the daughter of Henry H. Timken, and was associated with Timken in the latter's business in Canton, Ohio. Timken was a highly successful manufacturer of carriages and carriage parts, ranging from springs to roller bearings.
     Bridges came to the San Diego area about 1899 and invested in real estate and oil well drilling in our county. In 1908 he became the administrator of Timken's estate. In 1912, Bridges built a home at 2500 Chatsworth Blvd. in Point Loma where he lived the rest of his days. The structure is still there, at the corner of Curtis Street, but it has been divided into two homes, to make their sizes more suitable for present-day owners.

     Mr. and Mrs. Bridges donated $410,000 for the construction of the Fine Arts Gallery (now called the San Diego Museum of Art) on the north side of the Plaza de Panama in Balboa Park. It was completed and donated to the City of San Diego in 1925. Mr. and Mrs. Bridges also donated art treasures to the museum, and funds toward its operating expenses in the early years. William Templeton Johnson, San Diego's leading architect whose public buildings define pre-World War II San Diego, approached Bridges and asked to be considered as architect for the project. Johnson had never designed a museum before but offered to travel East at his own expense to study museum architecture. He was ultimately given the job.
     The Mable Shaw Bridges Auditorium at Pomona College was a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Bridges as a memorial to their daughter, who died in 1907 while she was a student at Pomona College (she was 22). The auditorium, built in 1931 and designed by William Templeton Johnson, has become a symbol of The Claremont Colleges.
     The Bridges played a critical role in launching another of San Diego's attractions, when in 1927 they donated money that made it possible for Nino Marcelli to stage the San Diego Symphony Orchestra's inaugural concert. The gift was anonymous at the time, and the amount is not known.
     During his lifetime Mr. Bridges served on a variety of civic and Chamber of Commerce Committees. His philanthropy was an essential part of the creation of two important cultural assets, which grace the scene here today: the San Diego Museum of Art and the San Diego Symphony Orchestra."

     The Friends of Art passed 500 memberships on February 8, 1925.

     In March, 1925, Mr. and Mrs. Bridges proposed that the Friends of Art combine into a larger organization for the purpose of operating the then nearly completed Fine Arts Gallery, and that the name be changed from Friends of Art to Fine Arts Society. The proposal was unanimously accepted in April 1925.
     Several members of the Guild were signatories to the original charter (Articles of Incorporation) of the Fine Arts Society, April 10, 1925. They were also on the first Board of Directors, which numbered 30. They were, Dorothea C. Abbott, A. B. Campbell Shields, Miss Alice Klauber, Miss Louise Darby, Mrs. W. H. McFetridge, Alfred R. Mitchell, John W. Mitchell, Mrs. Adele M. Outcalt, Frank P. Sherwood, and Aime B. Titus. Louise Darby, Aime Titus, and Alice Klauber were still on the Board of Directors ten years later. Aime Titus and Alice Klauber also served on the Executive Committee and were instrumental in all policies and functions of the museum. At this time the membership of the Guild consisted of 5 Honorary, 59 Active, and 27 Associate members.
     On May 5, 1925, the Fine Arts Society was officially incorporated. On December 10, 1925, the engagement of Reginald Harkness Poland as Director of the gallery was announced.

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